The Difference

While I have no children of my own, I remember someone once saying: “Raise your children the same way by treating each of them different” or something like that.  In other words what works for one will not necessarily work for the other one.  It is good advice for parents and anyone who works with children or teens. 

For me it was especially important because within the first few hours I quickly discovered that D-n and D-y were very different.  D-n wanted me to watch and help him in whatever he set his hand to.  So I sat next to him while he pounded nails into a plank of wood or helped him with crafts. D-y would often float from counselor to counselor or from project to project in the craft area. More then once I lost sight of him (though he was not far away and always with another counselor) and had to track him down. D-n wanted to try archery, go fishing, and take a hayride down a bumpy dirt path. D-y thought much was ‘boring’ but enjoyed the experience once he went.  Yet both had the same deep thirst for the love of God but needed it shown in different ways.

However, they both liked swimming—even the ‘polar bear swim’ at 7:15 in the morning!!  And when a chilly breeze blew over the pool on those mornings, I quickly understood why it was called the polar bear swim.  So every time my campers went into the swimming pool I jumped in as well, whether it was sunny and warm or cloudy and cool.

Monday ended with a rainstorm and Jungle Jerry giving his live animal presentation.  In the midst of joyful applause when the chinchilla made its appearance to a few fearful squeals when the snakes and scorpions went by, Jungle Jerry shared his wisdom about the animals.  Some noteworthy critters and memories: the soft but squishy tail of an alligator,the box turtle race (the girl turtle won), the little girl who stood on the back of a large turtle and ‘surfed,’ and the long yellowish Burmese Python. 

Tuesday morning came with the breakfast club at chapel and archery and crafts mid morning.  Here D-n shot a bow.  Two stuck in the ground several feet away but one arrow, shot from a different bow, made it a little beyond the target.  Later in the day, an hour before dinner, the sky grew dark and thunder rumbled in the distance. The girls quickly exited the pool and people began to head indoors for shelter.  My two campers and I were under the pavilion making crafts and hammering away at woodwork.  The wind picked up, the time between the lightning and thunder shortened, and within a few seconds the rain dashed against the ground in a rhythmic fury.  Then I noticed a small boy from the other boys’ cabin was crying. He wanted to run to the dining hall adjacent to the pavilion but he was scared. I removed my adventure hat, gave it to him and said, “This will keep you safe and dry.”

It worked.  He and his counselor ran towards the dining room, where the rest of us would quickly follow.  Now in case you are wondering, my adventure hat has no secret powers; rather the small gesture gave the boy courage to run through the rain. I suppose it made a small difference in his life that day.  But small things are not to be overlooked.  We are asked in Zechariah 4:10 “Who dares despise the day of small things?” And we are not to despise them for who knows what the Lord will do with them.  Small things done in the Spirit become big things in God’s economy. 

Anyway, for the next half hour or so until dinner I played the card game War with D-n and D-y.By the end of dinner, the storm blew away and the sun shone.  The fire department came, talked a little bit about what they do and then they sprayed the willing children and counselors with the fire hose.

Later that evening when my fellow counselors and I returned to Wesley cabin after our break, sometime around 10:30-11pm, many campers were still awake. One or two of the campers had a flashlight and shone them in the eyes of other campers.  This went on for a little while.  We tried to quiet them down a couple times but nothing worked. So finally I went in to try to quiet them down.  D-y said, “Tell us a bedtime story.” 

“What kind of story do you want me to tell?” I asked.

Different campers shouted out a couple different things: “Action. Battles. Adventure.”

I pulled my Bible from my satchel and thought of the myriad of battles that took place in the Scriptures—Joshua and Jericho, David and Goliath, King Jehoshaphat with an enemy army approaching, and many more.  Then to my surprise, D-y said, “Tell us the story about how Jesus died.” Gladly! I quickly turned to Matthew’s gospel and began to read, starting with the betrayal, through the crucifixion of Jesus, and ended after the resurrection.  When I reached the end, all of the campers except D-y were asleep. But even he had quieted down.  Gregg and Tom G. came into the room and I noticed they were praying over the campers. 

God’s word and prayer made the difference that evening. The dynamic duo soothed whatever anxieties or frustrations gripped their hearts.  God’s word calmed them down and prayer protected them.  We are wise to heed the dynamic duo in our own adult lives as well.  

So Tuesday ended on a positive but what about Wednesday? During training I heard hump day was one of the most challenging days of camp. So I braced myself for what was to come.

To be continued…